It is a time of fear in the face of freedom, a time of an emptying country and swelling cities, a time for the widening of previous roads and the opening of new paths, yet a time when these paths are mined by knowing algorithms of the all-seeing eye. It is the time of the warrior's peace and the miser's charity, when the planting of a seed is an act of conscientious objection. These are the times when maps fade, old landmarks crumble and direction is lost. Forwards is backwards now, so we glance sideways at the strange lands through which we are all passing, knowing for certain only that our destination has disappeared. We are unready to meet these times, but we proceed nonetheless, adapting as we wander, reshaping the Earth with every tread. Behind us we have left the old times, the standard times, the high times. Welcome to the irregular times.

Kissing Against the Law In Salt Lake City

If you visit Salt Lake City, make sure that you don’t get too friendly. It turns out that public displays of affection are against the law there, at least for certain people.

Last week, a young couple was placed in handcuffs while standing in what they thought was a public plaza on Main Street Salt Lake City, but was in fact property recently transferred from the city government to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints – the Mormons. What was the offense? A kiss… on the cheek.

The couple was gay, but the Mormons say they’ll handcuff any couple at all who tries to kiss out in public. I haven’t been able to find any record of heterosexual couples getting taken into custody for kissing while in Salt Lake City, though.

The Mormons say that they’re protecting marriage. I wonder, though, how anyone is ever going to get married if they can’t even kiss.

One factual error: the plaza on which the gay couple was kissing is PRIVATE property owned by the church, and so they can set what ever rules they want. When someone is asked to leave, as the couple was, and refuse they become trespassers and can be arrested or cited.

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